20 planes for flying buffs -- from Boeing to Airbus

Miquel Ros, for CNN • Updated 1st December 2017

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(CNN) — We're flying more than ever.

At any one time, the skies are buzzing with activity -- air traffic measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometers has grown 85% in the past 15 years and Airbus's Global Market Forecast 2015 predicts it will grow 145% by 2034.

The air traveler of today has a wide spread of frequencies, connections and types of service available to them -- but there's one area where choice has narrowed.

Growing consolidation in the aircraft manufacturing industry, driven by its huge capital requirements and massive economies of scale, means we're flying in an increasingly narrower range of airliner types.

While there's much to admire in the most recent aircraft models, those looking for unconventional flying experiences will have to try harder.

Here, in part one of our selection of iconic aircraft today's aviation enthusiast may still be able to fly in, are 20 of our favorite planes from the last 50 years.

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter

First flight: 1965

Often used as a commuter aircraft providing service to small communities, the Twin Otter is a small, solid aircraft that's nevertheless capable of the most incredible landings.

For example, it provides service to the Caribbean island of Saba -- which has the shortest commercial landing strip in the world -- as well as nearby Saint Barts, where pilots must undergo special training before they're permitted to land.

Flying into any of these airports on a DHC-6 is an experience no aviation enthusiast will want to miss.

Boeing 747

Few aircraft have achieved the iconic status of the Boeing 747, commonly known as the Jumbo Jet.

Its easily recognizable shape, with two decks on the forward section, helped it gain popularity, but the Jumbo is impressive for other reasons as well.

Its capacity, reach and reliability have made it a "queen of the skies" for over four decades.

Despite the fact that its latest iteration, the Boeing 747-8, hasn't been a huge commercial success and many airlines have started to withdraw earlier versions of the type, there are still so many Jumbos in service that opportunities to fly on a Boeing 747 will be around for decades to come.

Some of the largest operators right now include major airlines such as British Airways and Lufthansa.

Ilyushin Il-76

The Il-76: Used for firefighting, emergency response transport and music videos.

Paul Kane/Getty Images

First flight: 1971

Although its primary role since entering service with the Soviet Air Force in 1974 has been military transport, the Il-76 is capable of performing a multitude of other roles, from firefighting to passenger service.

The Il-76 is a reliable, solid, four-engine aircraft, able to operate from unpaved, short runways or drop paratroopers or supplies in war zones. It's still in production, although very few of them are in service as civilian airliners.

Short of joining the Russian army, the easiest way to fly on an Il-76 is to go on a North Korean aviation tour or get in touch with Alrosa, a Russian airline that still operates the type.

Antonov An-72/An-74

First flight (An-72): 1977

First flight (An-74): 1983

This is possibly one of the weirdest-looking aircraft out there. The An-72 and its later version, the An-74, are nicknamed Cheburashka because the engine configuration, with two jet engines mounted on top of the fuselage, makes it look like a popular Soviet cartoon character of the same name.

You can fly on one as part of a tour to polar research station Barneo, built every year near the North Pole by the Russian Geographical Society.

Camp supplies are delivered by An-74 that lands on drifting ice.

Flights are usually operated by Russian airline UTair Cargo.

Several tour operators offer trips to the Barneo polar station, including Polar Cruises.

Airbus A320

If the Boeing 737 is included in this list, the Airbus A320 has to be here too.

Although it first flew in 1987 -- two decades later than its archrival -- the A320 has managed to catch up with the Boeing 737 and even outsell it.

"The A320 was Airbus' response to the Boeing 737 and, with its fly-by-wire and side stick controls, pioneered a new approach to commercial aircraft," said Andy Foster, senior lecturer in Air Transport Management at Cranfield University,

The A320 has spawned a whole family of aircraft, from the smaller A318 and A319 to the stretched A321, which gives airlines plenty of flexibility when planning their fleets without sacrificing the efficiency gained from sharing a common technology.

As is the case with the Boeing 737, the A320 is still an evolving aircraft. Deliveries of its latest iteration, the re-engined A320neo, are just starting.

An-225 Mriya

First flight: 1988

Because of the buzz it generates, you may be forgiven for thinking that the Airbus A380 is the largest aircraft in the world.

In fact, that honor belongs to the Antonov An-225 Mriya.

This six-engined giant was originally designed to carry the Soviet space shuttle on its back but was later converted to airlift cargoes that no other aircraft is capable of carrying -- a job it still performs to this day.

No wonder the only An-225 in existence becomes an immediate sensation with plane-spotters wherever it lands.

The bad news is that getting to fly in it is a challenge. You'll need to convince Ukrainian cargo operator Antonov Airlines to give you a lift.

Airbus A340

The A340 is a four-engined long-haul airliner that was designed by Airbus in the 1980s to challenge the American-made models that dominated the market at the time.

Typically flown in configurations ranging from 260 to 350 seats, it competed in a segment between the larger Boeing 747 and the smaller Boeing 767.

It was produced in several versions. The A340-600, for example, is a sight to behold, with its long, slender fuselage, while the A340-500 specialized in super long-haul routes, such as Singapore to New York.

The A340 fell out of favor because twin-engine jets such as the Airbus A330 or the Boeing 777 could do the same job while consuming less fuel.

Many airlines have been phasing them out but there are still more than 200 crisscrossing the globe.

Boeing 777

Upon hitting the skies in 1994, the 777 became the widest, most spacious jetliner in its class.

Boeing

First flight: 1994

Typically carrying between 300 and 450 passengers over long distances, lots of superlatives can be used to describe the Boeing 777 (or Triple Seven as it's popularly known): first commercial airliner to be 100% digitally designed, airliner with the largest turbofan engines, best-selling wide-body airliner.

Boeing is already working on the Boeing 777X, which is meant to enter service in 2020 and will be the world's largest twin-engine jetliner.

The Boeing 777 has been a favorite with many airlines, including British Airways, Emirates and Air France.

Embraer E-Jet

First flight: 2002

With its E-Jet family, which includes the E170/175, seating 70 to 80 passengers, and the E190/195, that stretches to the 100 to 120-seat range, Brazilian manufacturer Embraer has grabbed a significant share of the regional jet market, in fierce competition with archrival Bombardier.

Robert W. Mann, a consultant and former airline planning executive, credits the E-Jet with bringing a "mainline look and feel" to the regional airline space at attractive unit costs.

A new generation of the family, the E-Jet E2 is being developed by Embraer and is expected to enter service in 2018.

With over 1,000 E-Jets delivered since 2004, it shouldn't be too difficult to fly on one of them.

Antonov An-148/158

First flight (An-148): 2004

First flight (An-158): 2010

Here's another product of the Antonov design bureau that may attract the interest of aviation enthusiasts because of its relative scarcity -- only around 40 have been built so far -- and its unconventional look, somehow reminiscent of the BAe 146.

Yet getting a ride on this regional jet isn't that complicated.

You just need to book a ticket with Rossiya or Angara Airlines of Russia, Cubana de Aviacion or Air Koryo.

Sukhoi Superjet 100

First flight: 2008

The Superjet represents Russia's comeback to the civilian aircraft-making scene.

Manufactured in partnership with Alenia of Italy and several other foreign aerospace firms, the Superjet is a clean-sheet design that targets the growing regional jet market for aircraft with fewer than 110 seats.

There are quite a few ways to fly in the Superjet.

While most are operated by Russian airlines, Aeroflot being the largest, it's possible to fly the type in other regions, for example, with Interjet in Mexico, Sky Aviation in Indonesia and, soon, Cityjet in Western Europe.

Bombardier CSeries

First flight (CS100): 2013

First flight (CS300): 2015

This family of aircraft, which includes the CS100 and CS300 models, is Bombardier's attempt to break into the medium-sized airliner market (between 110 and 160 seats) and compete head-on with Boeing and Airbus.

You'll have to wait a few months to fly it commercially.

Entry into service is planned for July 2016, with Swiss Global Air Lines being the launch carrier and airBaltic following suit before the end of the year.